Adjustable length jump rope

ABSTRACT

A jump rope has a rope rotatably attached to handles. One or both handles has a grip, and a cap on a shaft supported by one or more bearings, to allow the cap to rotate with the shaft relative to the grip. The rope extends through an adjustment hole in the cap. The shaft is moveable relative to the cap to place the handle into a locked configuration where the rope is clamped in place and prevented from moving through the cap, and into an unlocked configuration where the rope is moveable through the cap to adjust the length of the rope.

PRIORITY CLAIM

This Application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/939,553 filed Feb. 13, 2014, and incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Modern fitness jump ropes generally have handles with bearings, to allow the user to comfortably and securely grip the ends of the rope while avoiding twisting the rope. The rope is typically a small diameter steel, plastic or rubber cable, optionally with a sheath or coating to improve aerodynamics and/or reduce wear. The preferred length of the rope varies with the user's height and the type of jumping performed. The length of a jump rope may of course be adjusted by adjusting the position of the grips, knotting, looping, tying off, etc. However, these techniques have various drawbacks. An improved adjustable length jump rope is needed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect, a jump rope has a rope or cable rotatably attached to handles. One or both handles has a grip, and a cap on a shaft supported by one or more bearings, to allow the cap to rotate with the shaft relative to the grip. The rope extends through an adjustment hole in the cap. The shaft is moveable relative to the cap to place the handle into a locked configuration where the rope is clamped in place and prevented from moving through the cap, and into an unlocked configuration where the rope is moveable through the cap to adjust the length of the rope.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings, the same element number indicates the same element in each of the views.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an adjustable length jump rope.

FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of the left handle in the jump rope shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a section view of the right handle shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged left side view of the handle shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the left side handle shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 6 is a top view of the handle shown in FIGS. 2 and 4.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged section view of the top end of the handle shown in FIGS. 2 and 4.

FIG. 8 is a side perspective view of another handle design.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

As shown in FIG. 1 a jump rope 10 has a rope or cable 14 attached to handles 12A and 12B. The rope may be a conventional braided rope of natural or synthetic fibers, but more typically is a steel, plastic or rubber cable, optionally covered with a jacket or coating to reduce air resistance, noise, corrosion and/or wear. The rope 14 may have a diameter of 1-2 up to about 6 or 7 mm. The length of the rope 14 between the handles is adjustable, as described below, and generally ranges from about 2 to 4, or 2.5 to 3.5 meters. The handles 12A and 12B may be the same, with FIG. 1 showing different handles only for purpose of illustration.

Referring to FIGS. 2, 4 and 5, the handle 12A has a tube 18 within a hollow grip 16. Upper and lower rings 20 and 22 may be installed into upper and lower open ends of the tube 18. Alternatively the upper and lower rings may be part of the tube 18. The tube 18 may be omitted in some designs. The grip 16 may be a rubber or plastic material optionally contoured to provide a comfortable and secure gripping surface for the user's hand. The tube 18, if used, and the upper and lower rings 20 and 22 may be metal or plastic.

A shaft 40 is rotatably supported within the tube 18, or within the grip 16 if no tube 18 is used, on upper and lower bearings 32 and 34. Depending on the type of bearing selected, a single bearing may alternatively be used. A tool fitting 30 may be attached onto or formed on or in the lower end of the shaft 40. The tool fitting 30 may be a screw or bolt head as shown in FIG. 5, a socket as shown in FIG. 8, or any other type of fitting engageable by a tool such as a screw driver or wrench 82. In the example shown, the upper end 44 of the shaft 40 has screw threads, or is provided with a threaded stud. A cap 48 is attached onto the shaft 40 via the screw threads.

Turning to FIGS. 4, 6 and 7, the cap 48 may be a round disk having a knurled circumference and optionally a flat top. A cap shoulder 58 on the bottom of the cap 48 may project inwardly into the top ring 20. The threaded upper end 44 of the shaft 40 extends into a blind threaded cap hole 54 on a center axis of the cap 48. As shown in FIG. 7, an adjustment bore or hole 60 extends through the cap 48 on a diameter of the cap 48 and intersects the cap hole 54. A loop hole 64 may also be provided through the cap 48, optionally on a chord of the cap 48, and with the loop hole 64 parallel to and offset to one side of the adjustment hole 54.

As shown in FIG. 6, one end of the rope 14 is routed through the adjustment hole 60, formed into a loop 62 and then routed back through the loop hole 64 in the reverse direction. Cable clamps 70 may be snapped onto the lead section 26 and return section 28 of the cable 14 to secure the return section 28 in place. Referring to FIGS. 6, 7 and 8, the length of the rope 14 between the handles may be adjusted holding the cap 48 while turning the shaft 40 so that the upper end 44 of the shaft backs away from the lead section 26 of cable in the adjustment hole 60. With the upper end 44 of the shaft 40 loosened or backed away, the lead section 26 of the cable 14 can be pushed or pulled through the cap in either direction, to lengthen or shorten the length of the cable 14 between the handles.

With handles having a tool fitting 30, such as the handle 12A shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the shaft 40 is rotated by engaging a tool such as a screw driver into the tool fitting 30 and turning the tool. With a handle 12C as shown in FIG. 8, a wrench may be used to engage the tool fitting 30. The combined length of the shaft 40 and the tool fitting 30 may be selected to position the bottom of the tool fitting 30 (which is engaged by a tool) near flush with the bottom end of the bottom ring 22, as shown in FIG. 8. The tool fitting 30 may optionally be recessed into the tube 18 or the grip 16. Generally the combined length of the shaft and the tool fitting is 75 to 100 or 125% of the length of the grip.

After the cable 14 is pulled through the adjustment hole 60 to achieve the desired length, the shaft 40 is rotated in the opposite direction. This causes the upper end 44 of the shaft 40 to move further into the cap hole 54 and clamp the lead section 26 of the cable 14 in place within the cap 48.

Of course, during cable length adjustment, the shaft may alternatively be held in place using a tool while rotating the cap 48. With the upper end 44 of the shaft 40 threaded into the cap hole 54 and clamping against the lead section 26 of the cable 14, the handle is in a locked configuration. With the handle in the locked configuration, the cable cannot move relative to the cap, and the length of the cable is fixed. With the upper end 44 of the shaft 40 released from clamping against the lead section 26 of the cable 14, the handle is in an unlocked configuration where the cable can be pulled through the adjustment hole 60, allowing the cable length to be adjusted.

During use the handle is in the locked configuration so that the length of the cable is fixed. The top end of the shaft may be flat or blunt so that it may be forced against the cable 14 without damaging the cable. The cap 48 may also be dimensioned so that, in the locked configuration, a flat bottom surface of the cap bottoms out onto the upper ring 20, to prevent crushing the cable 14.

FIG. 3 shows an alternative handle 12B having a knob 66 attached onto the lower end of the shaft 40, instead of a tool fitting 30. In this design, the handle 12B can be placed into the locked and unlocked configurations by turning the cap 48 and the knob 66 in opposite directions. Also as shown in FIG. 3, the handle 12B has a tube 18 with integral upper and lower rings 20 and 22. In the design of FIG. 3, as well as in the other designs described, the cap 48 may be loosened on the shaft 40 to adjust cable length by holding the shaft 40 against rotation at the bottom end of the grip.

Thus, a novel jump rope has been shown and described. Various changes and substitutions may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The invention, therefore, should not be limited except to the following claims and their equivalents. 

1. A jump rope comprising: a rope having a first end attached to a first handle and a second end attached to a second handle; the first handle having a shaft rotatable within a grip, with the shaft projecting into a shaft hole in a cap, and an adjustment hole in the cap intersecting with the shaft hole, and with the first end of the rope extending through the adjustment hole, and the first handle having a locked configuration wherein the shaft engages the first end of the rope to prevent movement of the first end of the rope through the adjustment hole, and an unlocked configuration wherein the shaft is disengaged from the first end of the rope to allow movement of the first end of the rope through the adjustment hole, to allow adjustment of the length of the rope between the first and second handles.
 2. The jump rope of claim 2 wherein the shaft is threaded into the stud hole.
 3. The jump rope of claim 1 with the shaft rotatable about a shaft axis substantially perpendicular to a cap axis extending centrally through the adjustment hole.
 4. The jump rope of claim 1 wherein the rope comprises a braided wire cable.
 5. The jump rope of claim 1 wherein the cap is round and the shaft extends into a center of the cap, and the adjustment hole is aligned on an axis forming a diameter of the cap.
 6. The jump rope of claim 1 with the shaft centrally and rotatably supported within the grip by an upper bearing and a lower bearing.
 7. The jump rope of claim 1 wherein the cap is round and has a diameter and further including a loop hole in the cap on a loop hole axis forming a chord of the round cap.
 8. The jump rope of claim 1 further including a loop hole in the cap parallel to the adjustment hole, with the adjustment hole passing through a center of the cap and with the loop hole on one side of the adjustment hole.
 9. The jump rope of claim 8 with the first end of the cable passing through the adjustment hole and through the loop hole, and forming a loop on one side of the cap.
 10. The jump rope of claim 1 wherein the shaft extends substantially entirely through the grip, further including a tool fitting on a lower end of the shaft.
 11. The jump rope of claim 10 with the tool fitting comprising a screw head, a bolt head or a socket.
 12. The jump rope of claim 1 further including a knob on the lower end of the shaft.
 13. The jump rope of claim 1 with the second handle being the same as the first handle.
 14. A jump rope comprising: a rope having a first end rotatably attached to a first handle and a second end rotatably attached to a second handle; the first handle having: a first grip; a first round cap on a first shaft, with the first shaft supported by one or more bearings in the first grip, to allow the first round cap to rotate with the first shaft relative to the first grip; a first adjustment hole on a diameter of the first round cap; a first loop hole in the first round cap on a chord of the first round cap; with the first end of the rope extending through the first adjustment hole and through the first loop hole and forming a loop on one side of the first round cap, and with the first handle having a locked configuration wherein the first end of the rope is prevented from moving through the first adjustment hole, and an unlocked configuration the first end of the rope is moveable through the first adjustment hole.
 15. The jump rope of claim 14 with the first end of the rope clamped between the first round cap and a first end of the first shaft when the handle is in the locked configuration.
 16. The jump rope of claim 15 with the first round cap threaded onto the first end of the first shaft and with the first round cap rotatable relative to the first shaft to change the first handle from the unlocked configuration to the locked configuration.
 17. The jump rope of claim 16 further including a tool fitting on a second end of the first shaft.
 18. The jump rope of claim 16 further including a knob permanently attached to a second end of the shaft.
 19. The jump rope of claim 14 wherein the first loop hole is parallel to and offset to one side of the first adjustment hole, a central longitudinal axis of the first shaft passes through a center of the first round cap, and the first adjustment hole is perpendicular to the first shaft.
 20. The jump rope of claim 14 wherein the second handle having: a second grip; a second round cap on a second shaft, with the second shaft supported by one or more bearings in the second grip, to allow the second round cap to rotate with the second shaft relative to the second grip; a second adjustment hole on a diameter of the second round cap; a second loop hole in the second round cap on a chord of the second round cap; with the second end of the rope extending through the second adjustment hole and through the second loop hole and forming a loop on one side of the second round cap, and with the second handle having a locked configuration wherein the second end of the rope is prevented from moving through the second adjustment hole, and an unlocked configuration where the second end of the rope is moveable through the second adjustment hole. 